Chapter 31

"Claira, why don't you and Seth go in the living room and watch TV or something until dinner's ready?" That was Brooklynn's subtle way of telling her to get lost with her boyfriend, who had NO idea he was surrounded by supernatural beings.

"Oh shit!" Trish's brown eyes went wide. "Sorry, I forgot!" She whispered, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Wait, did I miss something?"

"Seth doesn't know about our powers. I know he might find out eventually, but Claira doesn't want him knowing right now. And I don't blame her, so we gotta keep it quiet around him." Brooklynn spoke quietly, watching the comprehension dawn on Randy's face. "Trish, warn the cueball when he's done stinking up my bathroom, please."

"Will do."

"Or just think it at him, you know he's probably listening in." Randy rolled his eyes when he heard Steve start laughing, shaking his head. "That's just not right… eavesdropping on people." He really needed to learn Mark's tricks to keep Steve out of his head. That gift was very rude.

"How do people want their steaks?"

"Steve likes his medium-rare."

"Steve will eat my meat, however, I decide to serve it to him."

Trish considered it, looking at Brooklynn and then smiled sweetly. "That might actually be something to see… "

"Jesus… you're not right in the head…"

"You hussy!" Brooklynn couldn't stop laughing, high-fiving Trish while Randy just gaped at them, wiggling her brows. "It would DEFINITELY be something to see though…not sure if I'd like some man-on-man action…"

"Trust me, honey, you'd be so busy eyeballing their dicks and drooling over their bodies instead of sucking each other off."

"Enough you two, goddamn." Steve was red as a cherry at the two giggling women. "Remind me to keep you two apart from now on. Mark, need help out there beatin' your meat?" He immediately regretted saying that as Trish, Brooklynn and Randy lost it.

"Not until later when I'm stuffing it down your throat," Mark hadn't missed the conversation, standing right outside the screen door manning the grill. "Grilling is sacred Steve, you know that. You don't offer to help another man. You fucking get a beer, come out, and praise the work already done."

"And wait until later when you can praise him for-" Trish giggled at Steve's finger pressed against her lips, fluttering her eyelashes at him innocently.

Steve went red again at the thoughts flowing through Trish's mind, grumbling under his breath and cracked open a beer, before joining Mark out on the patio. "Those women are pistols, man." He commented, winking at Trish through the screen door and took a pull from his beer. "So, why did ya summon me here tonight, Deadman?" It'd been a while since they hung out and Mark had been called that.

"Seth doesn't know about us, about any of us."

"Yeah, I know, I've dipped into his head."

Mark had expected that. "Checking him out?"

"Man, he's a teenage boy, and I remember how I was… teenagers are scumbags."

Well, Mark couldn't deny that either. "Planning on keeping tabs?" When Steve nodded, he cleared his throat. "Look, I know kids are, uh… dirty little…"

"Scumbags."

"That. But I don't want you diving into either of their heads all the time either, got it?" Mark didn't want his best friend peeking in his daughter's head all the time. Eventually, thoughts were going to turn dirty. Steve didn't need to basically be doing mental peepshows.

Steve took another pull from his beer, deciding to switch topics because they had a serious problem on their hands. "Trish told me what's goin' on with Brooklynn and the dreams. She says the darkness is comin'." Mark nodded and he continued, clearing his throat. "I'm – uh – sorry 'bout Bastet, man. I know how much ya loved that cat." He placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, wanting to get the condolences out of the way and switched gears again. "So, any idea what this damn darkness is that's comin' our way?"

Well, it's not me. I'm already HERE. "Not a clue, that's all Brooklynn, not me. I don't have dead people visiting me with warnings." Mostly because he slept with wards under his side of the bed. He had started doing that a long time ago, before Brooklynn, after he had been haunted by the ghost, turned poltergeist, of one of Taker's victims. "Maybe something to do with the Undertaker."Highly unlikely. His name alone usually kept would-be corpses away.

"Man, don't mention that jackass." Steve groaned, shaking his bald head. "Nobody wants to deal with him and we all hope he stays gone." He had no idea he was talking to Undertaker at that moment, who had temporarily overtaken Mark's body.

Trish was helping Brooklynn with the rolls, taking them out of the muffin pan, when they heard a bellow come from the back patio.

"MOTHER FUCKER!"

Brooklynn rushed to the screen door and pushed it open, seeing Steve was clutching his chest, her eyes wide. "What the hell happened?!"

"Grease splatter." Steve gritted out, knowing he'd been standing too close to the grill and was lead inside by Trish to be treated.

"Shit… he going to be all right?" Mark called through the door, frowning. They had been chatting about everything, the supernatural chaos, Claira, the darkness and then suddenly the flame from the charcoal grill had flared up, sending grease everywhere, it seemed.

"Yeah, nothing some aloe and ice won't take care of." Trish reassured him with a shake of her head. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened, probably not the last either. Boys and their toys.

Brooklynn stepped out on the patio, leaving Randy, Trish, and Steve inside, closing the door behind her. "Are you okay? You didn't get splattered, did you?" Part of her wanted to believe that had been an accident, but…if Taker was awake, something told her Steve set him off somehow. Mark was bare from the waist up as she gently turned him from the grill to survey his chest, not seeing a single mark. "Not that I'm complaining or anything, but why didn't you tell me you invited Trish and Steve over for dinner tonight? I would've made more food if I knew…"

"I wanted to have a chat with Steve about boundaries regarding Claira's head, and Seth's." Popping in for a peek, fine. Potentially perving on dirty thoughts, not so much. For the most part, he trusted Steve, but… that was his daughter. Mark had to make sure they were on the same page. "Also, figured I'd talk to him about this week, what the kid doesn't know, that sort of thing."

"I understand that, I really do." Brooklynn hugged him around the waist and kissed his chest, looking up into his emerald eyes. "Just next time, give me a head's up, so I'm not blindsided." It was bad enough Randy had shown up unannounced, not that she minded having company, but it was nice to have some notification. "I was wondering why you got so many steaks." That should've been her first clue more people were coming, but Brooklynn hadn't cottoned on. At the very least, their kitchen was completed, and Brooklynn realized she never properly thanked her husband for all the work he did on it. "By the way, thank you for fixing my kitchen. It looks amazing." She crooked her finger at him, making him lower and gave him a heated kiss, one of his arms encircling her waist to pull her closer to him.

"Nah, does you good to be surprised, woman." Mark chuckled, kissing the tip of her nose.

Not much usually got by Brooklynn; she had a very strange sense of details. It was probably one of the things that had made her such a great writer too. He knew it came in handy when she was dealing with spirits, crossing them over one way or the other.

"And you're welcome." Not like he hadn't had the time. She'd been so engrossed in her research, she hadn't noticed anything happening outside of her thoughts.

"Ass." She murmured, smacking his backside and laughed when she dodged his swat, amber eyes sparkling impishly. "I'm gonna go back inside and finish up. Break those bad boys in, along with my potatoes."

Mark already had a platter to put everything on. She stepped back inside the house, wincing at the red marks all over Steve's chest while Trish spread aloe over them. Claira had retrieved it while Brooklynn spoke with Mark about what happened…somewhat.

"You okay, Steve? I'm so sorry that happened…"

"Don't worry about it, Brook. Stood too close to the grill and didn't realize it. Fuck!" He cursed when another sting seared through his skin and Trish winced, making him give her a tight smile. "I'm fine, honey, I promise."

"Stupid grill."

Mark cocked an eyebrow when Randy appeared and held up the platter Mark already had waiting. "You're being useful?"

"Steve's busy enjoying his wife fawning over him." Given the fact that it was usually the other way around in that weird marriage… Randy wasn't sticking around to watch. "It's gross."

If you even think about touching me, I'll stuff your head in the grill and let the grease destroy your pretty boy face. "Well, chicks dig scars."

Randy was SORELY tempted to touch him, to see just what the hell was going on with Mark, but decided against it. Somehow, he knew if he did, there would be dire consequences, especially with how Brooklynn had gone from being a panicky mess yesterday to happy as a clam today. What the hell had happened in the past 24 hours to make her do a 180 turnaround? There were so many questions that would be answered if he touched Mark. Brooklynn had blatantly lied to him; he could read it all over her face, but he had no idea WHY she was lying. What was she hiding?

"I'll take these in." He waited until the last steak was set on the tray before heading back inside, feeling a chill rush down his spine. What the hell?

If he touches Us, We're popping his head off his stupid neck. Agreed. On some level, Mark knew talking to himself like that was probably a bad idea, but at least he wasn't doing it out loud. He was also aware that there was a good chance a bit of the Undertaker had seeped in, but… he wasn't out of control, he was in control. Mark was going to venture a bet that it was most likely just personality traits and not the whole kit 'n kaboodle. Taker had never been good about not jumping the body when he had half a shot.

After dinner, even with a burned Steve, everyone managed to share some laughs and talk about the old days, without the mention of magic. It would've been a lot easier if Seth hadn't been there for dinner, but they couldn't very well deny their daughter's boyfriend either. It wasn't the first time Seth shared a meal with them and wouldn't be the last. However, with Trish and Steve here, they came up with the plan for how everything would happen on Friday. Trish and Steve were picking the kids up from school and heading on the road, so Brooklynn had to drop their stuff off Thursday, so everything was ready to go.

Seth had no problem doing that and neither did Claira, both excited to go on a road trip together. Steve assured Brooklynn and Mark everything would be handled and taken care of. They would have to stop at a hotel and Mark was adamant about it being the same one with Claira staying with them and Seth could stay with Trish and Steve. The teenagers would NOT have their own hotel rooms. That was a recipe for disaster and, surprisingly, Claira and Seth agreed amicably, once again thanking the adults for doing this. Claira was just happy to have Seth coming on the road trip with them and wouldn't miss time with him during their Spring Break.

Claira and Seth were agreeing to all the terms laid out because they were counting on having some alone time eventually this week, he wasn't a complete idiot. And Mark really hoped everyone kind of got used to the kid being around and watching what they said. The four of them, plus Randy, seemed like a test run, so to speak. He could just imagine how it would go when all of them were together. About the only two who could get away with passing their shit off as normal would be Glenn and Melina. Glenn suffered migraines and Melina never had a problem playing up her gypsy palm reader role.

"Claira, I need to talk to you about something."

It was going on 9 PM, around bedtime, but her mother looked so serious, sleep was the last thing on Claira's mind. Her father had already come in and reversed the spell, so now she would be able to sleep and dream regularly. "Okay…am I in trouble again? Cause I've been keeping my bathroom cleaned…"

Brooklynn smiled and sat down on the bed, taking her daughter's hand. "No, you're not in trouble. I want to have an honest conversation with you…and it's about Seth."

"Okay…" Now Claira was really nervous, her eyes widening a little and felt a nervous bubble developing in her stomach. "Mom…"

"Are you having sex with Seth?"

"No…and I'm not going to anytime soon. He wants to, but I told him I have to graduate first. I want to be out of high school and, preferably, out of this house before I think about having sex." Claira answered honestly, squeezing her mother's hand and let out a shaky breath. "It terrifies me, Mom. Sex. It scares me and it makes me nervous every time I think about it happening. Seth and I have done…other things…"

That wasn't surprising to Brooklynn, they were horny teenagers and, if they weren't having sex, which she believed now, they had to get their urges out somehow. "Foreplay, you mean?"

"Yeah…" Claira lowered her eyes to the bed, afraid she'd be in trouble for this. "I know it's a FORM of sex, but I never let his lower parts touch mine. I'm not risking anything." For some reason, she valued her virginity and something inside told her to wait, so she was. "Please don't tell Dad…"

"I won't. This is a talk between you and me and it won't leave this room, sweetheart. I'm not mad and I'm actually…relieved you're being cautious and responsible." She hugged Claira, not believing she was already 16 and wondered where all the time had gone. Just yesterday, she was a little baby girl being held in her arms and now she was nearly a full-grown woman, making her own decisions and had a boyfriend.

Neither realized Dad was listening just outside the closed door, thanks to magic.

We're killing him. Yes, yes We are. Fucking touching her… the little bastard. After trusting him, letting him into Our house. We should kill Steve too. No, that was Trish's doing, not Steve's. Both of them then for bringing him on this vacation. They'll be off, using everyone catching up as a distraction. Now that was a disturbing, but probably true, thought. He waved a hand, dispersing the spell and headed back to the bedroom, a bit curious to know if Brooklynn would tell him about that conversation. If he told things his daughter asked him not too, she wasn't exempt either.